Sawm in Ramadan

FAST IN RAMADAN WAS PRESCRIBED

  • Fasting in Ramadan was prescribed in Sha’ban 2, 2AH, Monday in Madinah
  • Ruling: Fasting is one of the pillars of Islam, therefore, whoever denies it is a disbeliever
  • SEASON OF RAMADAN starts from Sha’ban until Shawwal
  • Full submission to Allah and to the Prophet ﷺ. Part of submission is no argument.
  • It is the only act of worship that requires no physical effort and cannot be cheated (either secretly or openly).

PRESCRIBED AFTER SALAH

  • Prescribed 5 years later after Salah (10th year of Prophet-hood in Makkah)
  • Why? Because changing people’s habits and customs are difficult
  • The transition should be gradual
  • The belief in One God should be established first

WHY IN THE LUNAR MONTH?

  • Muslims follow the lunar months in every aspect
  • Every lunar month begins by sighting the new moon (crescent)
  • Every lunar month rotate every season of the year
  • It makes the believers to practically obey Allah whatsoever the condition is
  • Lunar is either 29 or 30 days, whether it is 29 or 30, you still get the full reward in any good deed you do

SIGHTING THE MOON

  • Sighting the crescent (Hilal) on the 29th of Sha’ban, or complete 30 days of Sha’ban
  • “Fast on sighting it and break the fast on sighting it, if the vision was blurred, then complete 30 days of Sha’ban.” [Bukhari, Muslim and others]

  • Ramadan BEGINS at the sighting of the new moon and Ramadan ENDS at the sighting of the next new moon

WHAT IS RAMADAN?

  • 9th month of the Hijri year (Lunar)
  • Ramadan comes from the Arabic root-word “RAMAD” which means excessive heat/dryness
  • Muslims in the past used to fast during Summer when the heat was at its climax

YEAR 1 HIJRI = YEAR 622 MILADIYAH

  • The Lunar calendar is 11-12 days shorter than Gregorian calendar… therefore, Ramadan is advancing every year.
  • Eleven times, every 30 years, an extra day is added to keep the calendar in time with the moon. Since the Islamic year is just 354 or 355 days long, holidays move backwards through the seasons, and each year, a holiday comes eleven days or sooner. In 33 years, the holiday is back where it started. Thus, lunar calendar is not constant – for example, the fasting month of Ramadan falls roughly around late winter or spring, but in a decade or so, it is going to take place during our summer or autumn.
  • In the Qur’an, Islamic scripture commands the faithful to mark time by the cycles of the moon. “They ask thee the New Moons. Say: They are but signs to mark fixed periods of time in (the affairs of) men and for pilgrimage.” [Al-Baqarah 2:189]

Link: You and Ramadan